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Munich (DE), 1st December 2012. The dream comeback in the DTM,
culminating in the drivers’, manufacturers’ and team titles, was the
defining feature of BMW Motorsport’s 2012 season. However, BMW teams
and drivers also claimed victories, podiums and titles in many other
series around the world and at iconic racing events. We take a look
back at the highlights of the past season.

DTM: BMW Motorsport crowns sensational comeback with three titles.

When, after an absence of almost 20 years, BMW Motorsport lined up at
the first race of the DTM season in Hockenheim (DE) on 29th April
2012, the goal was to be competitive as soon as possible. When Dirk
Werner (DE) clocked the third fastest lap during the first qualifying
session of the year, it soon became apparent this was a realistic
goal. Andy Priaulx (GB) finished sixth in the race and scored the
first points of the comeback season.

The first shockwaves were felt at the Lausitzring (DE), where Bruno
Spengler (CA) secured pole position in the BMW Bank M3 DTM and went on
to win Sunday’s race. It was BMW’s 50th win in the DTM and the first
milestone in a sensational comeback season. Spengler won a further
three races at the Nürburgring (DE), in Oschersleben (DE) and at the
final race of the season in Hockenheim, where a dramatic finale
resulted in him being crowned DTM champion for the first time in his career.

BMW Team Schnitzer won the team competition thanks to both Spengler
and his team-mate Werner, who grew in stature and performed better and
better over the course of the season. Augusto Farfus (BR) shone for
BMW Team RBM with two pole positions and his maiden DTM victory in
Valencia. Farfus finished seventh overall, making him the best-placed
rookie. Defending champion Martin Tomczyk (DE) ended the season in
eighth place in the drivers’ standings – behind Farfus and in front of
Werner. He claimed three podiums for BMW Team RMG, but did not have
any luck with retirements in the second half of the season. Joey Hand
(US) ensured that all six BMW drivers finished in the points on at
least two occasions. As such, all the drivers played their part in
securing first place in the manufacturers’ standings for BMW
Motorsport at the end of the ten races.

BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt said: “We have made motorsport
history with three titles in our comeback season. Together the three
teams scored five wins, five pole positions and twelve podiums for
BMW. All six of our drivers were in the points in 2012 and made their
mark on the season on more than one occasion. To be totally honest, we
would never have dared dream of a season like that.”

North America: BMW Team RLL wins at Sebring and Road America.

While BMW Motorsport was winning a hat-trick of titles in the 2012
DTM, the goal in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was to defend the
same number of titles – and BMW Team RLL made an excellent start to
the new season. Joey Hand, Dirk Müller (DE) and Jonathan Summerton
(US) won the GT class of the prestigious season-opener, the 12 Hours
of Sebring (US), in the number 56 BMW M3 GT. Jörg Müller (DE), Bill
Auberlen (US) and Uwe Alzen (DE) crossed the line fourth in the second
BMW M3 GT. A second place in Long Beach (US) meant Hand and Dirk
Müller still led the GT Drivers’ Championship after two races. Over
the remainder of the season, however, they were hampered in their
efforts to defend the driver, team and manufacturer titles by more
than their fair share of bad luck and the less than advantageous
technical classification of the BMW M3 GT. Jörg Müller and Auberlen
achieved another highlight with BMW Team RLL’s second win at Road
America (US). By the end of the season, the team had seven podiums to
its name, including the two victories. That was enough for second
place in the team competition and third in the Manufacturer Championship.

Marquardt summed up the season: “BMW Team RLL may not quite have
managed to defend the three titles it won in the 2011 season, but two
wins and a further five podiums mean it was still a successful season
from BMW Motorsport’s point of view. North America is a very important
market for BMW. Team Principal Bobby Rahal and his crew do an
outstanding job of representing the brand on the racetrack.”

In the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series, BMW was once again on the
top step of the podium as Engine Partner of Chip Ganassi Racing. Scott
Pruett (US) and Memo Rojas (MX) won the Daytona Prototypes title for
the third time in a row at the wheel of their BMW Riley. This was Chip
Ganassi’s sixth triumph in this series. Chip Ganassi Racing finished
fourth and sixth at the prestigious 24-hour race in Daytona (US).

Nürburgring 24 Hours: Four BMW Z4 GT3s in the top ten.

BMW lined up at the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring (DE) with a host
of privateer teams and drivers, and also sent four works-assisted cars
into action in the “Green Hell”. BMW Team Schubert and BMW Team
Vita4One both ran two BMW Z4 GT3s. Uwe Alzen set a new lap record in
qualifying to secure pole position for the Schubert team. The car with
Alzen, Jörg Müller and Dirk Müller in the cockpit also set the fastest
lap times during the race on the Nordschleife. Drive train damage
ultimately cost them any chance of winning, and the trio came home
seventh – ahead of the sister car with Dirk Adorf (DE), Claudia
Hürtgen (DE), Dominik Schwager (DE) and Nico Bastian (DE), which had
also encountered technical problems. BMW Team Vita4One’s best-placed
BMW Z4 GT3 followed in ninth, driven by BMW Motorsport test and
development driver Marco Wittmann (DE), Jens Klingmann (DE), Pedro
Lamy (PT) and Richard Göransson (SE). Team Principal Michael Bartels’
(DE) second car retired following a crash. The best-placed BMW was the
BMW Z4 GT3 belonging to Marc VDS Racing. Bas Leinders (BE), Markus
Palttala (FI) and Maxime Martin (BE) narrowly missed out on a podium
finish, coming home in fourth.

“The Nürburgring 24 Hours was once again full of everything the fans
love about this endurance classic,” said Marquardt. “It was
unbelievably close throughout the entire race – and we were in the
thick of the action with our BMW Z4 GT3s. We would obviously have
liked to have won on the 40th anniversary of BMW M. Unfortunately, we
were denied by technical problems on the two BMW Team Schubert cars.
Despite this, all the BMW teams deserve a huge compliment. They never
gave up and fought magnificently.”

BMW Motorsport around the world: Victories and titles all over
the globe.

Countless privateer teams and drivers around the world once again put
their faith in BMW cars and did an excellent job of representing the
brand in 2012. Taking centre stage are the title winners: Thomas Biagi
(IT) and Stefano Colombo (IT) won the Italian GT Championship at the
wheel of a BMW Z4 GT3 run by BMW Team Italia. Norbert Michelisz (HU)
of Team Zengö Motorsport won the Independents’ Trophy in the FIA World
Touring Car Championship in his BMW 320 TC. Also among the most
successful drivers were Carsten Knechtges (DE), Tim Scheerbarth (DE)
and Steve Jans (LU) in their BMW M3 in the production car class of the
VLN Endurance Championship. The same applies for Nick Catsburg (NL)
with the BMW M3 GT4 in the Dutch GT Championship. “Customer racing
once again produced a multitude of great performances from BMW drivers
in high-class racing series in 2012,” said Marquardt. “Every driver in
a BMW car is part of the BMW Motorsport family.”

It goes without saying that the same applies to all those who
narrowly missed out on titles, despite fantastic performances. Bas
Leinders, Maxime Martin and Markus Palttala of Marc VDS Racing
finished runners-up in the Blancpain Endurance Series in their BMW Z4
GT3 following a dramatic finale. Michael Bartels and Yelmer Buurman
(NL) of Vita4One Racing won four races in the FIA GT1 World
Championship at the wheel of a BMW Z4 GT3, and were involved in the
title race right down to the season finale. BMW also claimed victories
in the German ADAC GT Masters, the British GT Championship and the
GT300 class of the Japanese Super GT Championship.

Formula BMW Talent Cup: Dienst takes overall victory.

The winner of the 2012 Talent Cup is Marvin Dienst (DE). The
15-year-old secured first place in a thrilling finale in Oschersleben.
As a reward for his efforts, BMW Motorsport will support him in a
higher-level single-seater class for the coming season. Dienst was
level with Tristan Viidas (EE) after the three races that made up the
final, but the title went to the driver from Worms (DE) as a result of
the better individual race results.

“Congratulations to Marvin Dienst on winning the 2012 Formula BMW
Talent Cup,” said Marquardt. “Although only one person can ultimately
stand on top of the podium, all the competitors in the Formula BMW
Talent Cup are winners in our eyes. They have all made huge progress
in their development over the course of the season’s training. That
goes for the learning curves both on and off the track. In the Formula
BMW Talent Cup we train the talented youngsters in all the areas they
require for a subsequent career in professional motor racing.”

CO2 emission information.

Fuel consumption figures based on the EU test cycle, may vary depending on the tyre format specified. Further information on official fuel consumption figures, specific CO2 emission values and the electric power consumption of new passenger cars is included in the “Guideline for fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and electric power consumption of new passenger cars", which can be obtained from dealerships and here as PDF.

Further News for: Others · Motorsport Automotive · Customer Sports

Related Video Content.

Fuel consumption figures based on the EU test cycle, may vary depending on the tyre format specified. Further information on official fuel consumption figures, specific CO2 emission values and the electric power consumption of new passenger cars is included in the “Guideline for fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and electric power consumption of new passenger cars", which can be obtained from dealerships and here as PDF.